Meet the Leslie family

T

he
Leslie Family arrived in Croatia in May of 2000. They have served for the
last decade as only Independent Baptist missionaries in the entire country
of Croatia. During this time the very first Independent Baptist church was
planted in the northern city of Čakovec.Tree
of Life Independent Baptist Church was started in 2002 and was turned over
to Brother Rajko Telebar the national pastor in 2007. The church is
currently under the leadership of Bro. Telebar and growing and learning to
serve.

The Leslies have also tried to have an active ministry to the Roma (Gyspy)
population in Croatia. The northern part of Croatia has a large Gypsy
population and they are in desperate need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The
Leslies are currently working in 3 different villages.

Bro. Johnny Leslie has now turned his attention to the former Croatian
capitol of Croatia. Varaždinhas
around 300,000 souls within it's county and not one independent Baptist
church. Please pray for Victor's Baptist Church and the Leslies as they do
their best to serve the Lord in Varaždin.

What We Believe

(A) The Holy
Scriptures - We believe
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to
be the verbally inspired Word of God. The Scriptures
are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and are
therefore the final authority for faith and
practice. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments
are the complete and final revelation of God to man.
The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to
their normal grammatical-historical meaning. We
believe that God has preserved His inspired Word for
the English-speaking world in the King James Version
(1611). The King James Version shall be the official
translation of the church, and will be the only
translation used in preaching, teaching, or any
other capacity in the church. (II Timothy
3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21).

(B) The
Godhead (Trinity) - We
believe in one Triune God, existing eternally in
three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each
coeternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal
in power and glory, and having the same attributes
and perfections (Deut 6:4; Matt 28:18-20; II Cor
13:14; Jn 14:10,26).

(C)The
Person and Work of Christ

(1) We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the
eternal Son of God, became Man, without
ceasing to be God, having been conceived by
the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary,
in order that He might reveal God and redeem
sinful men. (Isaiah 7:14;9:6; Luke
1:35; John 1:1-12; Philippians 2:5-8).

(2) We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
our redemption through His death on the cross as
a representative, vicarious, substitutionary
sacrifice; and that our justification is made
sure by His literal, physical resurrection from
the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom
3:24-25; I Peter 2:24)

(3) We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to
Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of
God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the
ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and
Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Heb 9:24;7:25; Rom 8:34;
I Jn 2:1-2).

(D)The
Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

(1) We
believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who
convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural
Agent in regeneration, indwelling and sealing
them unto the day of redemption. (Jn 16:8-11;
Rom 8:9; II Cor 3:6; Eph 1:13-14).

(2) We
believe that He is the Divine Teacher who
assists believers to understand and appropriate
the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and
duty of all believers to be filled with the
Spirit. (Eph 1:17-18; 5:18; I Jn 2:20,27).

(3) We
believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of
spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely
uses pastors, evangelists and teachers to equip
believers in the assembly in order that they
might do the work of the ministry. (Romans
12:3-8; I Cor 12:4-11,28; Eph 4:7-12).

(4) We
believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit,
such as speaking in tongues and the gift of
healing, were temporary. We believe that
speaking in tongues was never the common or
necessary sign of the filling of the Holy Spirit
and that ultimate deliverance of the body from
sickness or death awaits the consummation of our
salvation in the resurrection, though God
frequently chooses to answer the prayers of
believers for physical healing. (I Cor 1:22;
13:8; 14:21-22).

(E) The
Depravity of Man - We
believe that man was created in the image and
likeness of God, but that in Adam' s sin the human
race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became
alienated from God; and that man is totally
depraved, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy
his lost condition (Gen 1:26-27; Rom 3:22-23; 5:12;
6:23; Eph 2:1-3; 4:17-19).

(F) Salvation -
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought
to man by grace and received by faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on
Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe
that sinners must be born again, and that this new
birth is instantaneous and not a process. There is
no hope of salvation without Jesus Christ. (Jn
1:12; John 3:1-20; Eph 1:7;2:8-10).

(G)The
Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

(1) We
believe that the redeemed, once saved, are kept
by God' s power and are thus secure in Christ
forever. (Jn 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:1,38-39; I
Peter 1:4-5).

(2) We
believe that it is the privilege of believers to
rejoice in the assurance of their salvation
through the testimony of God' s Word, which,
however, clearly forbids the use of Christian
liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom
13:13-14; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

(H)The
Church

(1) We
believe that the Church is a called-out assembly
of baptized believers, who have covenanted
together in the faith for the purpose of
carrying out the Great Commission. (I Cor
12:12-14; Eph 1:22-23; Acts 2:42).

(2) We
believe that the establishment and continuance
of local churches is clearly taught and defined
in the New Testament. (Acts 14:27; 20:17;
20:28-32; I Tim 3:1-13).

(3) We
believe in the autonomy of the local church free
from any external authority or control. We will
not join or become part of any convention. (Acts
13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom 16:1,4; I Cor
3:9,16; 5:4-7; I Peter 5:1-4)

(4) We
believe that the officers of ordination are
pastors and deacons, and the Scriptural
ordinances are water baptism and the Lord' s
Supper. (I Timothy 3; Romans 6; I Cor 11)

(5) We
believe that the sole mission of the church is
to win the lost, baptize them, and teach and
instruct them in the Word of God so that they
too will win the lost. (Matt 28:19-20;
Mark 16:15)

(I)Separation

(1) We
believe that all the saved should live in such a
manner as not to bring reproach upon their
Savior. Every child of God should carefully
guard their testimony and refrain from all
worldly and sinful pleasures. (II Cor 6:14-7:1;
Rom 12:1-2)

(2) We
believe that the church and her members should
be separate from all affiliation and fellowship
with religious apostasy that deny the verities
of the "faith which was once delivered to the
saints." (Jude 3; II Jn 9-11; II Cor 6:14-7:1)

(3) We
believe in the separation of church and
state.

(J) The
Second Advent of Christ -
We believe in that "blessed hope," the personal,
imminent return of Christ Who will rapture all
believers prior to the seven-year Tribulation
period. At the end of the Tribulation Christ will
return personally and visibly, with His saints, to
establish His Messianic Kingdom on the earth. (Ps
89:3-4; Dan 2:31-45; I Thess 1:10; Rev 19:11-16)

(K) Heaven and Hell

(1) We
believe in the bodily resurrection of all men,
the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to
judgment and everlasting punishment. (Mt
25:46; Jn 5:28,29; 11:25-26; Rev 20:5-6)

(2) We
believe that the souls of the redeemed, at
death, are absent from the body and present with
the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await
the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and
body are reunited to be glorified forever with
the Lord. (Luke 23:43; II Cor 5:8;
Philippians 1:23; 3:21)

(3) We
believe that the souls of the unsaved remain,
after death, in conscious punishment and torment
until the second resurrection, when with soul
and body reunited they shall appear at the Great
White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into
the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to
suffer everlasting conscious punishment and
torment. (Mt 25:41-46; Mark
9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; Rev 20:11-15)

(L) The
Personality of Satan - We
believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin
and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the
open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he
shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.
(Isaiah 14:12-17; Mt 25:41; Rev 20:10)

(M) Creation -
We believe that God created the universe in six
literal 24-hour periods. We reject evolution in any
form. (Genesis 1-2; Ex 20:11; Jn 1:1-3)

(N) Civil
Government - We believe
that God has ordained and created all authority
consisting of three basic institutions: 1) The Home;
2) the Church; and 3) the State. Every person is
subject to these authorities, but all (including the
authorities themselves) are answerable to God and
governed by His Word. God has given each institution
specific Biblical responsibilities with the
understanding that no institution has the right to
infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and
the state are equal and sovereign in their
respective Biblically assigned spheres of
responsibility under God. (Rom 13:1-7; Eph 5:22-24;
Heb 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)

(O) Human
Sexuality / Unchaste Conduct -
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate
physical activity be engaged in outside of marriage
between a man and a woman. We believe that any form
of homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality,
bisexuality, incest, fornication, adultery, and
pornography is a sinful perversion of God' s
original intent for a physical relationship between
a husband and wife. (Gen 2:24; Lev 18:1-30; Rom
1:20-32; I Cor 5:1;6:9; I Thess 4:1-8; Hebrews
13:4)

(P) Abortion -
We believe that human life begins at conception and
that the unborn child is a living human being.
Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused
taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We
reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies
due to rape, incest, gender selection, birth
defects, birth or population control, or the mental
well being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16;
Ps 51:5; 139:14-16; Is 44:24; Jer 1:5; Lk 1:44)

(Q) Missions -
We believe that God has given the church a Great
Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. As
ambassadors of Christ we must use every means
available to go to the foreign countries and not
wait for them to come to us. (Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15;
Acts 1:8)

(R) Giving -
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of
that portion of God' s wealth entrusted to him, is
obligated to support his church financially. We
believe that God has established the tithe as a
basis for giving but that every Christian should
also give other offerings sacrificially and
cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief
of those in need, and the spread of the gospel.
(Gen 14:20; Prov 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; Malachi 3; I
Cor 16:2; II Cor 9:6-7; Gal 6:6)

THIS STATEMENT OF FAITH DOES NOT
EXHAUST THE EXTENT OF OUR FAITH. THE BIBLE ALONE
IS THE SOLE AND FINAL SOURCE OF ALL WE BELIEVE.